Favorite Theater Company to See and Favorite Theater Company to Work With: Elephant Theatre Company
For the third consecutive year, Hollywood's 15-year-old Elephant Theatre Company has received a double "favorite" designation from Back Stage readers: favorite theater company to see and favorite theater company to work with. In recent years, Back Stage's Garland Awards, the L.A. Drama Critics Circle, and LA Weekly have bestowed major honors on the widely admired group. Its artistic director is David Fofi.
Iowa-born Ben Caron, an Angeleno for five years who has performed with the Elephant several times, explains why he voted it his favorite: "This company's consistency is not only admirable but rare. The level of talent attracted by the Elephant is worthy of the best regional theaters in the country. David Fofi is a directing tour de force who puts such detail and craftsmanship into his work that you would be sure that he was being booked all across the country. This group is not only dedicated to its craft but also passionate, unpretentious, and so much fun to work with."
Reader Chris Hayes describes the Elephant as a "cool, casual spot to check out some great theater. They always have interesting shows with terrific casts who make you smile, laugh, and provoke a thought or three. And since I'm always hungry, free wine and food is a significant perk as well."
RUNNERS-UP:
Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.;
(323) 882-6192; www.openfist. org
"Great group of actors, high production values." — Jamila Alina
"Bravo!" — Rona Nix
"Always up to a high standard" — Niki Hersh
"Great variety, artistic quality, and production values." — Robert Lesko
Sacred Fools Theater Company, 660 N. Heliotrope Drive, L.A.;
(323) 666-5067; www.sacredfools. org
"Invigorating energy without pretension." — Carrie Wiita
"Highly nominated, award winning risk taking artists!!" — Kimberly Atkinson
"They can do anything and everything." — Aaron Mendelson
"They always push the envelope and do something exciting and innovative." — Lauren Dobbins Webb
Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A.;
(323) 856-8611; www.theatreofnote. com
"This is the nicest group of talented artists I've yet to play with in LA!" — Lauren Dobbins Webb
"Go see a show there and you'll know why! The risk everything they've got every night!" — Frank Crim
"Consistently high quality acting and obvious passion for the artform." — Steven Biggs
—Les Spindle
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